Ban upheld on things said by Hinckley after shooting

A federal appeals court upheld a ruling barring prosecutors from introducing in court statements made by accused presidential assailant John W. Hinckley Jr. after his arrest.

The court also prohibited the admission of a handwritten document seized from Mr. Hinckley's jail cell at the federal prison at Butner, N.C., July 23.

Federal prosecutors want to use the statements Hinckley made to law enforcement officials after he was seized to counter his insanity defense by showing he was lucid in the hours immediately after the assassination attempt.